A hidden mountain jewel: Covilhã, Portugal.

Portugal is underrated overall. When someone thinks of the wonders of Europe, people don’t always consider this small nation. I’ve got to say it’s by far one of the most amazing places I’ve visited.
Obviously, it has a certain special value for me, because living abroad for a semester, Covilhã became my second home and Portugal, my second nation.

A shepherd town

The door of the Serra da Estrela (Hill of the Star), this is the land of the wool industry, home of discoverers of the XVI century, today a city with majorly university students and a young ambiance wherever you go.

It is also the place where the highest point in Portugal is, the Tower of the Hill of the start, that ranks up to 2000 mts. above sea level. For Mexico, this height is nothing I must say, it snows on this mountaintop, and all through the town!

Overall, it’s a city full of life, young people, from all over the world, and bars too! So needless to say, I had a lot of fun there! I met amazing friends, and it was my first truly international experience.

A view of Portugal

The State I lived in fell into crisis after 2008, when of the 36 wool factories they had, only 2 survived. So they had to figure our a way not to fall into disgrace: They came up with amazing tourism. The city is surrounded by amazing venues, which is amazing: Oil museum, cheese museum, discovery museum, Hill of the star museum… You tell me, I visited all! (Which I will post Shortly)Being Mexican and speaking NO PORTUGUESE AT ALL when I got there, it was hard to communicate. Portuguese nationals seemed always confused and not helpful at all at my attempts. But as time went by, I became friends with Brazilians! As any other Latino, they were crazy, friendly, and extremely energetic.
Together we did a bunch of crazy things that would eventually turn out to be what gave my trip the spice. What gave my heart the happiness I needed.

I also had a big crush on a Portuguese man (as it usually happens when you’re traveling… Exotic and different looks just SO SEXY). That never went anywhere, and instead, I lived a completely different love story.

If you want to know more about this land of poetry and sea, I’ll post much more soon!

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About the blog

Travelling is about experiences: The discovery, the smells, the pictures…. And what a better way to travel than to meet local friends along the way and go beyond what you see in travel guides? Follow me to these incredible destinations and learn the story behind each location!